


I imagine the tide simply went out

by crookedspoon



Series: Panels, Ink, and Caped Crusaders [14]
Category: Aquaman - All Media Types, Justice League (2017)
Genre: Community: comicdrabbles, Gen, Iceland, My First Work in This Fandom, Swimming, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, wordcount: 500
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 21:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: Sometimes, being his gruff self is not enough to keep people away.





	I imagine the tide simply went out

**Author's Note:**

> Written for #30 "Thaw" at comicdrabbles and "Aquaman teaching swimming lessons at his Icelandic village hangout" requested by anon.

Arthur comes to this particular strip of Icelandic coast to find some peace and quiet among the tales and the raucous laughter of the sailors, and some good whiskey to wash it all down.

He doesn't come here to be accosted by urchins.

"Aquaman! Aquaman!" they cry as they crowd around him. It's already grating.

"Yeah, yeah, speak up," he demands on his way to the pub.

"We want to swim like you!" one of the pipsqueaks does.

"Teach us how to swim!" they say almost in unison.

Great. He didn't come here for charity work. But he also doesn't have anything better to do than to get smashed, so whatever.

That is how he finds himself waist-deep in the Norwegian Sea, waiting for these runts to climb in after him.

They stand shuddering on the rocky shore, some brave enough to dip their toes into the waters.

A woman, presumably one of this lots' mother, rushes towards them.

"What are you doing? Do you want to kill them?"

"He wants to teach us how to swim like him!" an urchin defends him before he can so much as form a reply.

Not that he had much of a chance of getting in a word edgewise. The mother berates him that the water is too cold for the children, and that there's a hot spring nearby where he should take them instead. 

"Nearby" turns out to be quite a hike, if one the runts are used to undertaking, so at least there are no complaints.

The water is disgustingly warm, but the kids jump in readily and listen to his instructions. He teaches them breaststroke and how to kick their feet as a beginner's lesson, and although the water is shallow enough for them to stand in, they pretend like it's not and give it their all.

He's holding one kid up by the stomach as it's practicing coordinating its limbs, while another shoots at him from the shore, displaying the moves it's learned today.

As he escorts the children back to their village in the failing light, they beg him to return the following day to continue their lessons. They scatter to their respective homes, as soon as they're within reach, but not without thanking him again.

He's ready to hit the waves after he's seen each of these pipsqueaks off, but family after family invites him to dinner for taking care of their little ones, until he finally agrees to take supper with one of them.

"We're grateful you're teaching our Lárus the necessary skills he'll need to succeed his father on his fishing boat. My Kristján is gone from morning to night, so he cannot show the boy."

Arthur welcomes the chowder and especially the brandy they're offering. If all he had to do for this was to get a kid to kick its legs, he'd be willing to do it again.

These folk are too trusting and ready to welcome a pale-eyed stranger as their own.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the poem "The moon rose over the bay. I had a lot of feelings." by Donika Kelly.
> 
> Tumblr post for reblogging convenience can be found [here](https://crookedspoonfic.tumblr.com/post/167713982670/aquaman-teaching-swimming-lessons-at-his-icelandic).


End file.
